TENNESSEE
Southern Trophies Editor’s Note: This story was submitted by Larry Porter of Tennessee.
I
t was a hot November day in west Tennessee, not a day you would consider good for deer hunting. The mosquitoes were out and it was sunny and about 80 degrees. But I had two hours before my 13year-old daughter’s basketball game, and I was itching to go deer hunting. I had joined a deer hunting club with some of my buddies, and this would be my first time to hunt this new property. I had access to 500 or so acres that are mostly woods, with some set aside farmland. We have three food plots of Imperial Whitetail Clover and we use PowerPlant too. The Imperial Clover is scattered all across the property. The food plots work great as you will see in the quality of deer they’ve helped produce. I will be planting more of them next year. The Imperial Clover is by far the best clover on the market. I picked up my son’s muzzleloader and got my mosquito spray and off I went, as the farm is only 10 minutes from the house. I thought this could be as much of a scouting trip as a hunting trip since I knew nothing about the farm. I am a handicapped hunter, and if it weren’t for my trusty ATV getting me to and from the field, I would have had to give up hunting 25 years ago when I had a massive stroke. I am very blessed that over time I have regained almost all abilities except the use of my legs, but I can get around with the use of a cane. Through the help of my family and friends and the grace of God, I have still been able to enjoy hunting and fishing. When I got to the field, I grabbed my muzzleloader, fanny pack, doe estrus scent and my grunt call. It was 4 p.m., and I had an hour and a half to hunt. I always carry a drag rag doused with doe-in-heat scent behind my ATV to help cover my scent and also to hopefully attract bucks. I spotted a nice, big tree
Wayman Smith — Georgia I’ve used PowerPlant for three years now, and it gives me the cover near my clover fields I’ve been missing. The deer actually stay in it all day long. Scott Leak — Virginia My first year with PowerPlant was ‘05, and I’m planting again this spring. It is the first bean or pea product that my deer did not destroy before it had a chance to develop. Thanks for a superb product. Russell Langenfelter — Minnesota PowerPlant worked well last year. They fed in the field until late fall, and I took my second-best deer right on the edge of the field. Tomas Thomas — Oklahoma Send me another couple bags of PowerPlant. It’s a good product that I wish I had found about 10 years ago. The amount of forage produced is better than I’ve ever seen.
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WHITETAIL NEWS / Vol. 16, No. 1
Tennessee’s Larry Porter took his largest buck ever. As a matter of fact, it is the largest buck he’s ever seen.
stand (belonging to one of my friends) that I thought might be a good spot, as it was overlooking a field in the river bottom. I rode my ATV, dragging my drag rag, along the edge of the field and parked in the bushes behind the deer stand. I tried my best to get up in the stand but it just wasn’t going to happen, and I almost fell out trying to get situated. So I climbed down and fixed a comfortable spot under the deer stand and leaned my muzzleloader against the first step of the ladder. As I peered through the ladder, I could see the cars and trucks going by on the highway. The thought ran through my mind that I was just wasting my time, but I told myself to just enjoy being out in the woods and sit there until dark. I’ve always thought the best way to deer hunt was just to be quiet and sit still and let the deer come to you. An hour went by and all I saw were two squirrels. Without any deer activity, I decided it couldn’t hurt anything to try my old grunt call. I could still smell the scent of doe estrus on my fingertips. I grunted a few short grunts. What happened next left me in disbelief. In my 40 years of hunting, I’ve never seen anything like it. A monster buck bolted from a thicket, looking for a fight or at least to protect his territory; and he was heading right at me from across the open field. It happened so quickly that when the buck stopped, he was at 75 yards; but I hadn’t had time to even get my gun ready. I have a scope on my muzzleloader, but it didn’t take any kind of optics to tell this buck was a shooter. I managed to get my gun up and get my
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